Kremlin suggests resuming ‘direct negotiations’ with Kiev after Witkoff and Putin's meeting
This is the fourth time Witkoff has traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian officials in an attempt to normalize U.S.-Russian relations and reach a peace agreement in Ukraine.
Putin receives White House envoy Steve Witkoff
Russian President Vladimir Putin received White House envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin on Friday for his fourth meeting in Russia since relations between the two countries were resumed at Donald Trump's initiative to find a solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
After a three-hour meeting following their arrival in Moscow, Kremlin sources described the talks as "constructive." They addressed the possible resumption of "direct negotiations" between Russia and Ukraine, the Kremlin said Friday.
"A three-hour conversation took place. It was constructive and very useful. ... The discussion focused in particular on the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine," Putin's diplomatic advisor Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
Hours earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia is "ready" to reach an agreement, according to an interview with U.S. broadcaster CBS.
"How are you, Mr. President?" declared Witkoff, smiling, as he shook hands with Putin upon his arrival in a sumptuous Kremlin hall, according to a video released by the Russian presidency.
The Russian leader shared a brief exchange as he shook Witkoff’s hand, before moving to the negotiating table alongside the Kremlin's emissary for international economic issues, Kirill Dmitriev.
Witkoff and Putin have met three times since mid-February, when at Trump's initiative the two countries resumed relations.
Currently, negotiations are focused on the issue of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014 and which, according to Trump, will remain with Russia.
"Crimea will stay with Russia. And [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky understands that," the U.S. president said during an interview with Time magazine published Friday.
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Previously, Trump had reproached Zelensky for blocking the talks by refusing to recognize Russian control of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Trump "not happy" with airstrikes
Russian airstrikes left at least 12 dead and dozens wounded in Kiev early Thursday, one of the heaviest tolls in the Ukrainian capital in months.
Kiev has been subjected, like many other regions of the country, to almost daily Russian airstrikes since Moscow launched its offensive in February 2022.
However, Donald Trump blames Zelensky for the slow progress in the current talks, although the latest Russian bombings prompted the Republican to abandon the conciliatory tone he lavished in recent times toward Putin.
"Vladimir, STOP!" wrote Trump on Thursday on his Social Truth network, where he said he was "not happy" with a wave of attacks that came, he said, with "very bad timing."
He also assured that the United States is exerting "strong pressure" on Moscow to end the conflict, and even indicated that the Kremlin would make "a pretty big concession" by agreeing not to take over the entire country.
After his previous meeting with Putin in early April, Steve Witkoff felt that the Russian leader wanted lasting peace" in Ukraine.
This led Zelensky to accuse him of having "adopted the Russian strategy" and of "spreading the narratives" of Moscow.
Kiev and its European allies are accusing Moscow of deliberately prolonging the negotiations, while the Kremlin continues to publicly defend its demands: control of the five Ukrainian regions whose annexation it claims, that Ukraine renounce NATO membership and that the former Soviet republic be demilitarized.
Putin would also like to reach an agreement with Washington on an overhaul of the security structure in Europe, as he complains that NATO expanded to Russia's borders since the dismantling of the USSR in 1991.
For its part, Ukraine wants solid security guarantees from its Western allies that would deter Moscow from attacking again after the conclusion of a ceasefire.
On Thursday, Zelensky criticized the lack of "pressure"on Moscow.
"We are doing everything our partners have proposed. The only thing we cannot do is what contradicts our legislation and Constitution" on the territorial integrity of the country, including Crimea, he added.
The issue of possible territorial concessions raises concern in Ukraine, where Russia controls about 20% of the territory.
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